Blog

Electrical Magic and the Science of the Supernatural

In this post, Owen Davies of the Electric Generations team explores how the idea of a world governed by invisible forces has shaped the way people in western cultures have understood the relationship between us, the natural world, and the heavens. He delves into the reasons why some people were initially fearful of electricity. Read the post in full here.

Thomas McLaughlin: Visionary Behind the Shannon Scheme

Our first blog post comes from Deirdre McParland of ESB, a member of the Electric Generations team. Deirdre introduces readers to Thomas McLaughlin, the visionary behind the Shannon Scheme that led to the electrification of Ireland. Read the post in full here.

Voices from the Past: Remembering the Arrival of Electricity

This guest post comes from Jane O’Keeffe of Irish Life and Lore, an organisation dedicated to recording and archiving oral history in Ireland. Jane shares memories of the arrival of electricity from their collections. Read the post in full here.

Electricity and the Extinction of Fairies?

In this post, Ceri Houlbrook of the Electric Generations team focuses on one specific species that hasn’t fared so well since the advent of electricity: fairies! The reasons why fairies are believed to have been repelled by electricity are vague and rarely given, and Ceri explores some of the potential reasons in this post. Read it in full here.

Converting to Electricity: Irish Housewives in the 1960s

In this post, Ciara Meehan of the Electric Generations team looks at how the Dublin Gas Strike in early 1961 caused Dublin housewives to turn to electricity. It also explores broader reasons for why women embraced electricity in the home. Read the post in full here.

Love, Obey and Carry Water: Electricity in the Irish Countryside

In this guest post, author Lorna Sixsmith asks, While townspeople were buying electric cookers, refrigerators and dishwashers for their kitchens, using electric irons for their clothes and electric tongs to curl their hair in the 1950s and 1960s, were country people able to avail of the same modern conveniences? Read the post in full here.

ESB Advertising: The Early Years

In this post, Deirdre McParland of the Electric Generations team explores how, through the medium of advertising, ESB sought to convince the population of Ireland that electricity was not only perfectly safe but also easy to use and would transform the lives of Irish people for ever. Read the post in full here.

The Rays: A Fairy Story

In this post, Ceri Houlbrook of the Electric Generations team looks at The Rays, a story to train people – particularly women and children – in electrical safety and also to communicate the value of electricity in the home. Read the post in full here.

Exhibition Taster: Previously unseen pamphlets

When Electric Generations opens at dlr LexIcon on 2 October 2017, and subsequently travels to Manchester in March next year, visitors will have the opportunity to view previously unseen advertisements and pamphlets from ESB Archives. To learn more about one of those pamphlets, head over to ESB’s blog.

Exhibition Taster: Digital Copy of Electrical Housekeeping

We will have hard and digital copies of the periodical Electrical Housekeeping on display at our exhibition, but in the meantime why not browse our digital copy from summer 1939?! Access it here.

Exhibition Taster: Morphy Richards Hairdryer Ensemble

When the Electric Generations exhibition opens, we’ll have a number of electrical items on display that we’ve collected or borrowed from various places. The 1960s Morphy Richards ensemble hairdryer in this post is a taster of the type of objects that visitors will be able to see. Tracked down on eBay, it’s still in full working order — although we haven’t been brave enough to actually try it ourselves and it’s probably best that you don’t test it out at the exhibition, either! Have a look for yourself here.